Colon Mass Symptoms

Colon Mass SymptomsColon Mass Symptoms

Colon masses, or colon polyps, can occur anywhere along the length of the large bowel. Techniques to help diagnose colon masses include colonoscopy, barium enema, sigmoidoscopy (a smaller colonoscope is used to analyze the sigmoid part of the colon exclusively) and CT scans (also called virtual colonoscopy). Usually, affected patients rarely show colon mass symptoms making it really hard to diagnose. In asymptomatic patients, colon masses are often detected during routine examination or while investigating another condition.

Clinical Features

Colon mass symptoms when present often manifest as stool related features. There may be streaks of blood in the stools or a black appearance of the stools; changes in bowel movements and sometime, pain during a bowel movement or severe constipation. Malignant masses, apart from having the above mentioned symptoms, also tend to be associated with other symptoms like shortness of breath, extreme fatigue and lethargy and also sudden weight loss. Although symptoms are more commonly witnessed with malignant colon masses, a confirmatory diagnosis of such a mass can only be made after a biopsy. Small polyps may be removed by a colonoscope or sigmoidoscope. Patients over the age of 50 are more susceptible to colon mass formation and therefore, irrespective of whether they show colon mass symptoms or not, it is considered good practice for them to undergo colon examinations. Patients above the age of 50, those with previous episodes of cancer or tumors in the colon, uterus or ovaries and also those with previously removed colon polyps are placed at a higher risk of developing colon masses.

Benign and Malignant Colon Masses

Certain colon masses, such as adenomas, may be benign in the beginning but have a notoriously high rate of turning malignant. Therefore, biopsy result of the tumor mass is very important before treatment is planned out. Another sign of malignant transformation of a benign mass is its size. If a colon mass, even if not presenting with colon mass symptoms, grows rapidly in size, it is very like to be undergoing malignant transformation. First degree relatives of patients who have had colon masses or colorectal cancer are placed at relatively higher risk for the development of colon polyps. In such patients it is strongly recommended that they have regular stool examinations after the age of forty (to detect traces of blood in the stools which is a common colon mass symptom) and regular colonoscopies after the age of fifty. Colonoscopies are traditionally repeated every five years unless deemed more frequently necessary by a doctor. Colon cleansing procedures, when combined with other colon polyp prevention measures, help reduce chances of developing colon masses.

Diet Changes and Other Good Health Practices

Some good health practices that can go a long way in helping prevent colon masses include regular exercise, calcium rich diet/ calcium supplements, adequate fiber in the diet, abstinence from smoking and alcohol and regular colon cleansing procedures in certain patients. Colon irrigation helps cleansing the entire length of the colon and thereby prevents collection of waste material. Sometimes, symptoms of colon cleansing procedure can also help suspect a mass in the colon that is when there is obstruction to the passage of the colon cleansing tube through the colon.